COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A Coldwater man who was arrested February 12 for trying to steal a catalytic converter from a vehicle parked on Industrial Avenue entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors on Monday in Branch County Circuit Court.
28-year-old Darin Smullen entered a guilty plea to a charge of malicious destruction of personal property. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors will dismiss a count of attempted larceny from a motor vehicle as well as a habitual offender sentencing enhancer.
A sentencing hearing was scheduled for May 15. The maximum possible punishment for Malicious Destruction of Property over $1,000 is five years in the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Branch County Prosecutor Zach Stempien said in a statement, “This office found that a plea to the most serious offense the Defendant was charged with, and could be charged with, to be appropriate based upon the Defendant’s history and the effects of his criminal behavior. This office also agreed to not object to boot camp with the Michigan Department of Corrections, but such a provision would only be effective if the Defendant was sentenced to prison. The parties did not agree to any other specific sentence, meaning the Defendant can still be punished with a sentence to the Department of Corrections (prison), after consideration of the Michigan Sentencing Guidelines.”
He went on to say, “The parties also agreed to forgo further charges of similar conduct that Defendant may be implicated in. The reason for this is that any similar conduct would result in a concurrent sentence, meaning the overall period of incarceration could not increase as a matter of law with additional convictions. However, the sentencing Court may still consider that conduct in scoring the Michigan Sentencing Guidelines and sentencing the Defendant.”
According to police, a witness called 9-1-1 to report a man was cutting a catalytic convertor from a Ford Ranger pickup truck. When police arrived, Smullen fled the scene on foot.
A K-9 unit from the Michigan State Police was called in to assist with the search and Smullen was apprehended a short time later in a hole near the crime scene.
In addition to the State Police, the Branch County Sheriff’s Office also assisted Coldwater Police during the search for the suspect.
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